Mercury Rises : The explosive sequel to Mercury Falls!

Jaded religion reporter Christine Temetri and Mercury, a renegade angel, have just thwarted two diabolical plots to destroy the world. But their work isn’t finished yet: mysterious powers outranking even the Heavenly bureaucracy seem intent on keeping the Apocalypse on track. While the world is plagued by natural disasters and nations prepare for war, crazed billionaire Horace Finch plots to use a secret device hidden beneath the African desert to discover the deepest secrets of the Universe—even if he has to destroy the Universe to do it. Meanwhile, unassuming FBI investigator Jacob Slater tries in vain to find a rational explanation for the mysterious destruction of downtown Anaheim—a quest that ultimately brings him to Kenya, where he meets Christine and Mercury. Together, the three must stop Finch from activating the device and tearing reality to pieces. Uproarious and wildly entertaining, Mercury Rises proves that the devil is in the details!

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Apocalyptic Journalist Christine Temetri Interviews Robert Kroese

Christine Temetri: Mercury Falls concerned a plot to bring about the apocalypse. Can we assume, given the fact that you have now written a sequel called Mercury Rises , that the apocalypse did not occur?

Robert Kroese: Apocalypse is a process. It's not something that just happens all of a sudden. And it's not entirely clear that you can prevent it, although it seems to have been delayed a bit. As Harry Giddings said, "We've always been headed toward the apocalypse. It’s just a question of proximity."

CT: So what can you tell us about Mercury Rises? Does the apocalypse happen in that one?

RK: I probably shouldn't answer that.

CT: Well, I hear you're working on a third Mercury book, so presumably it doesn't. Gotta keep that gravy train running, huh?

RK: I’m sorry, have I done something to offend you? Why are you so anxious for the apocalypse to happen?

CT: Why am I so anxious? Do you know how many near-apocalypses I've been through? Not to mention the fact that in Mercury Falls , you almost killed me on five different occasions. I can only imagine what I get subjected to in Mercury Rises.

RK: Oh, you're not in Mercury Rises.

CT: I’m WHAT?

RK: That was a joke. Of course you're in Mercury Rises. The volcano scene wouldn't be nearly as exciting without you.

CT: Volcano scene?

RK: You'll see. It's fantastic. There's a flaming goat head and everything.

CT: Sounds like a real literary coup. I suppose I have to put up with that jackass Mercury in this one, too?

RK: Well, he is the title character.

CT: Yeah, about that. Wasn't the first book really more about me than Mercury? Why isn't it Christine Falls?

RK: Mainly because that's a terrible title.

CT: So, do Mercury and I get together in this one?

RK: Um...it's really not that sort of book. There isn't a lot of, you know, getting together.

CT: To sum up, then, no apocalypse and no sex. Is there anything of interest in this book at all?

RK: Uh...well, there are ziggurats.

CT: What's a ziggurat?

RK: You know, a step pyramid. Like in ancient Babylon?

CT: The big selling point of the book is that it has “step pyramids” in it?

RK: Well, not the big selling point.

Mercury: Wow, dude, you are terrible at this.

CT: Mercury! Where did you come from?

M: I have a tendency to show up whenever Rob starts to get really long-winded and boring.

RK: He's like comic relief.

M: More like AWESOMENESS relief.

RK: That makes it sound like you're offering relief from awesomeness.

M: Dude, seriously. I've got this. Go read your Stan Hawkins book.

RK: It's Stephen Hawking. He's a famous physicist. I'm doing some research for book number three. You see, there’s this guy in Mercury Rises who is trying to capture these quantum particles to try to...

M: Wow, I just felt this tremendous disturbance in the Force, like a million people not caring at all.

RK: Fine. [inaudible]...write you out of existence...[inaudible]...

M: Good luck with that, Physics Boy!

"Mercury is an engaging character and his many adventures are uproariously funny. The main character development is first rate. The supporting cast of assorted demons, archangels and others in their settings of cubicle hell and layers of heavenly bureaucracy along with ample helpings of history and biblical lore make for a thoroughly entertaining read." -- Monsters and Critics

From Booklist

The sequel to Kroese’s debut, Mercury Falls , finds the irreverent angel Mercury and his reporter pal, Christine Temetri, again facing the end of the world. The U.S. government is still trying to puzzle out the explosion that took out Anaheim Stadium and sends dozens of experts to comb the area for clues. Now out of a job, Christine decides to put some distance between herself and Los Angeles by traveling to Africa to volunteer for an aid organization. She finds two things she doesn’t expect in Kenya: wealthy entrepreneur Horace Finch, whose under-the-radar biosphere masks a secret project, and an antibomb like the one that destroyed Anaheim Stadium. The discoveries bring her back together with Mercury as the two battle human and angel foes to prevent the antibomb from imploding the world. Though not quite as seamless as its predecessor, Kroese’s sharp-witted follow-up will certainly appeal to Mercury Falls fans. The cliff-hanger ending will have readers eagerly anticipating the next installment. — Kristine Huntley

Review

“Amusingly fast-paced… with a nod to Travolta's Michael inside of Smith's Dogma, fans will appreciate Mercury Rises as the reporter demands the angel stop snacking on sugared treats as that is bad for your health.” -Midwest Book Review

Review

“Amusingly fast-paced…with a nod to Travolta's Michael inside of Smith's Dogma , fans will appreciate Mercury Rises as the reporter demands the angel stop snacking on sugared treats as that is bad for your health.” -Midwest Book Review

Review

"Rarely do I get as excited about a book or an author as I have in recently reading Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese. My favorite type of book is the kind that is both hysterically funny and somehow still deals with big questions and big answers in a way that takes nothing from their importance. Kroese's sequel to his first book - Mercury Falls - is just that story."-Fire Lyte, Inciting a Riot

About the Author

Robert Kroese’s sense of irony was honed growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan—home of the Amway Corporation and the Gerald R. Ford Museum, and the first city in the United States to fluoridate its water supply. In second grade, he wrote his first novel, the saga of Captain Bill and his spaceship Thee Eagle. This turned out to be the high point of his academic career. After barely graduating from Calvin College in 1992 with a philosophy degree, he was fired from a variety of jobs before moving to California, where he stumbled into software development. As this job required neither punctuality nor a sense of direction, he excelled at it. In 2009, he called upon his extensive knowledge of useless information and love of explosions to write his first novel, Mercury Falls. Since then, he has written nine more novels and learned to play the guitar very poorly.

Find out about Rob at http://sfauthor.net , connect with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/robkroese, and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/robkroese. To get exclusive free fiction and updates about future releases from Robert Kroese, sign up for his mailing list at http://sfauthor.net/get-email-updates.